US: SCOTUS weighs patent trolls, excess litigation this week

Having already heard four patent-related cases this term, the US Supreme Court is set to hear two more this week, according to reports. The cases will focus on so-called patent trolls and claims of excess litigation over patent infringement.

Some experts, including University of Houston law professor Paul Janicke, are not surprised at SCOTUS’s focus on patents: “The Supreme Court is worried and has been for years that patent power is too strong – too many patents are issuing, too many being are being abused by them,” he told reporters.

The first case is set for Monday, in which Bowflex-maker Nautilus argues a heart-rate monitor patent owed by Biosig Instruments is too vague to be enforced. The second, slated for April 30, considers a patent dispute between online content storers and deliverers Limelight and Akamai.

According to reports, this week’s cases will coincide with plans by the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a patent stuy on litigation to determine whether such lawsuits harm competition. Regulators have recently taken up the issue of so-called patent trolls, which are companies that acquire patent rights for the sole purpose of collecting royalty fees or suing companies that infringe on those patents.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is similarly take up the task of drafting legislation to curb such litigation after the House passed a measure on the topic last December.

Full content: Businessweek

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